Actress Olivia Hussey, who shot to worldwide prominence as a young person for her function within the acclaimed 1968 movie model of Romeo and Juliet, has died aged 73.
The Argentinian-born actress, who grew up in London, died on Friday surrounded by her family members, an announcement posted on her Instagram stated.
Hussey received the very best new actress Golden Globe for her half as Juliet, however many years later she sued Paramount Footage for sexual abuse as she was aged simply 15 when she filmed the film’s nude scene.
Her different most notable display function was as Mary, mom of Jesus, in 1977 TV miniseries Jesus of Nazareth.
“As we grieve this immense loss, we additionally rejoice Olivia’s enduring impression on our lives and the business,” the assertion stated.
Hussey was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1951, earlier than shifting to London aged seven and finding out on the Italia Conti Academy drama faculty.
She was 15 when Romeo and Juliet director Franco Zeffirelli found her onstage, enjoying reverse Vanessa Redgrave within the play The Prime of Miss Joan Brodie
Zeffirelli was on the lookout for somebody who was younger sufficient to be a convincing Juliet in what he meant to be the definitive cinematic model of the Shakespeare play.
He solid Hussey alongisde British 16-year-old Leonard Whiting as Romeo within the movie.
The movie was nominated for an Oscar for greatest image and director. Hussey missed out on an Oscar nomination herself in a powerful 12 months by which Barbra Streisand received the primary award for Humorous Woman.
However at that 12 months’s Golden Globes Hussey received the award for greatest new star.
Many years later, she and Whiting sued Paramount Footage alleging Zeffirelli – who died in 2019 – had inspired them to movie nude scenes regardless of earlier assurances they’d not must.
The pair sought damages of greater than $500m (£417m), primarily based on struggling they stated that they had skilled and the income introduced in by the movie since its launch.
However final 12 months a decide dismissed the case, discovering the scene was not “sufficiently sexually suggestive”.
In 1977, Hussey had reunited with Zeffirelli for Jesus of Nazareth to play the Virgin Mary, earlier than showing in Demise on the Nile a 12 months later primarily based on Agatha Christie’s novel.
Her roles in early slasher movie Black Christmas (1974) and TV movie Psycho IV: The Starting earned her recognition as a scream queen. Within the latter, she p[layed Norman Bates’s mom in a prequel storyline.
In later years she additionally took on work as a voice actress, showing continuously in video video games.
However she did have one ultimate reunion along with her former Romeo – as she and Whiting appeared collectively within the 2015 British movie Social Suicide, which was loosely primarily based on Romeo and Juliet, albeit set within the social media period.